


All I Need

by tyrannosaurus_rex



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Age Regression, Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Discipline, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Sexual Age Play, Non-Sexual Spanking, Rich and Rob being cuties, daddy Rich, little Rob - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-10-24 10:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10740135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyrannosaurus_rex/pseuds/tyrannosaurus_rex
Summary: Rich was sure Rob was the most adorable thing on this planet.And Rob was sure Rich is the most amazing person to ever exist.It works out nicely.





	1. Gross

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I have no idea what this, or why I wrote it, but I like it. Daddy Rich is everything I need in my life.

God, he should have known. Rob hadn’t aged down in days and that, in combination with added stress of an upcoming tour, was enough to make him fall apart. Rob age regressed, to put it simply. His headspace slipped back to being a young child, more often than not, a toddler, though occasionally a little older or younger. And Rich, being the fucking amazing boyfriend that he was, was Rob’s caregiver, his daddy.

Rob had been moody all morning. He was being uncharacteristically argumentative and confrontational and had been giving Rich attitude, witty retorts, and back talk all day, and frankly, Rich was tired of it.

There he stood, looking like the guilty little boy he was. That goddamned look on his face, the one that seemingly screamed his need for love and protection. His hands were in front of him and he was picking and pinching them, mostly out of anxiety and the pure need to keep his hands moving. His bright blue eyes slowly moved around the room.

“Robbie, look at daddy”, Rich said softly. He grabbed both of Rob’s hands in his own and locked eyes with him. Rob knew by Rich’s authoritative stare and lowered voice, he meant business. His voice was lowered and had a hint of ‘I’m-done-with-your-shit’, but was still warm and the same Rich that everyone knew and loved.

“Need help.”

The mumble barely reached the ears of Rich, but thank God it did. Within seconds, Rich knew exactly what was going on.

He needed help aging down.

Occasionally, Rob got stuck. He would get stuck being aged up, at least it seemed that way to others. He would be mentally regressed, but his actions and behaviors would make him come of as ‘big’ instead of having the headspace of a child that he had in that moment. Being ‘stuck’ typically happened when he was stressed or going through a hard time, which is exactly why it was happening now, and when he got stuck, Rich would help him age down.

“Oh Robbie”, Rich whispered.

He pulled Rob into him and maneuvered them both to sit on the floor. Rob buried his face into Rich’s chest and curled himself up into the smallest little ball that he could. His legs were drawn up and he sat sideways in Rich’s lap, leaning into Rich’s chest with his shoulder.

“Don’t like it”, he whispered. He repeated the phrase multiple times, mostly just whispering it to himself. Mumbling to himself was a very bad habit that typically came out when he was really upset and was the tell-tale sign that there was a lot going on in that cute little head of his.

“What do you not like, bub?”

“I look gross”, Rob whispered, his voice breaking, letting out a choked sob. “Don’t look like your cute little boy anymore. Look ugly and gross. You won’t love me anymore.”

“I love you so much, baby. You are my very cute and very special little boy. What's got that going through your head?”

“It's embarrassing”, Rob whispered. He buried his face in the crook of Rich's neck and spoke in mostly incoherent mumbles. Rich heard something along the lines of “look nasty”, “feel really gross”, and “I hate it.”

Rich knew exactly what Rob was talking about. Fifteen minutes later, after having talked and gotten Rob calmed down, the two of them stood in the bathroom. Rob was clutching his raggedy old plush dog toy in his arms, sitting on the counter beside the sink.

Rich was getting out a shaving razor, shave gel, and a wash rag. “Arms up, baby”, he said, reaching at the bottom hem of Rob's shirt. “We gotta get you out of this shirt so I won't get gel on it. Daddy's kinda messy, isn't he?”

Rob giggled and let Rich rid him of his shirt. He put his plush puppy, who he called Ziggy, was sat beside him.

He sat mostly still while Rich shaved the week's worth of stubble from his face. “You're all done, kiddo”, Rich finally stated, running the damp washcloth over Rob's clean shaven face.

 

Rob giggled and let Rich help him off the counter. “Need to go potty”, he said quickly.

Rich just motioned toward the toilet, still in the middle of putting up the razor and the shaving gel. He glared up in the mirror quickly. “Robbie, little boys sit down to potty.”

It was true. Rob had horrible aim when he was in a younger headspace and Rich wasn't too keen on cleaning piss up from around the toilet.

Minutes later, the pair were looking through Rob's chest of drawers for clothes he wanted to wear. He had already picked out a pair of Superman briefs and a pair of khaki shorts. He was being indecisive about his choice of shirt, socks, and shoes.

“Can you pick for me, daddy?” he asked. Rich chuckled and responded with “sure thing”, quickly grabbing the clothes.

He sat on the edge of the bed, Rob in front of him. “What should we do after lunch, munchkin?”

“Can go for a walk?” Rob asked. “Just wanna be with you today.”

They continued their planning as Rich redressed Rob. Rich patted Rob's bottom after pulling his Superman briefs up and got them situated. Rob put his hands on Rich's shoulder to steady himself as Rich helped him into the khaki shorts.

“You've got a dinosaur on your shirt. How silly is that, baby boy?”

“Super silly.”

The white tee-shirt was decorated with a green cartoon t-rex and had ‘roar!!!’ in a childish font. It was Rob's favorite shirt. He pulled the shirt over his head and giggled when Rich kissed his nose. “Sit down so I can get your socks and shoes on you”, Rich instructed.

Rob decided to climb into Rich’s lap and make it as difficult as possible for Rich to put his socks on. After a few minutes of playing and struggling to put Rob’s socks on, Rich stood up and kneeled in front of Rob.

Rich was fine with playing with Rob, he loved to be silly and play games, but as soon as Rob kicked him in the collarbone, he was all business.

“Rob, sit still”, Rich scolded.

He swatted at Rob’s thigh to get him to straighten up. Rob huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest, letting Rich slip his shoes and socks on.

“Why’d you spank me, daddy?”

“I didn’t spank you, Robbie, I swatted you. There’s a difference”, Rich said. He helped Rob stand up and kissed his cheek when he did so. “Do you remember when you got in all that trouble a few weeks ago for running off when you got mad at me? That was a spanking.”

The incident that happened a few weeks prior was the worst behavior Rich had ever seen from Rob. Rob had gotten mad about getting put in timeout and while Rich left the room for a moment, he had stormed off and essentially ran away. He went to a bar and got drunk, just to spite Rich. There was a rule between the two of them that strictly prohibited alcohol consumption while Rob was in a younger headspace and that, in combination with running off and coming back many hours later, was enough to warrant a pretty severe spanking from Rich.

“But if you’re wondering why I swatted you, it was because you were being a little goof ball while I was putting your socks and shoes on and I didn’t wanna get kicked in the face.”

“That makes sense”, Rob replied. He wrapped his arm around Rich’s and leaned against him. “Sorry for being hyper, daddy.”

“It’s alright, bub. I know little boys get hyper sometimes. How about we go play ball in the backyard after lunch? That sound good?”


	2. Night Night Kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the people who commented, thank you so much for commenting. It means a lot. I would have replied directly to them, but I am very awkward and was scared of being weird.

The rest of the day went well, without any intentional misbehavior from Rob. He was his typical clingy, talkative, silly self. He took a nap without a problem and was more than happy to get to spend the day lounging around the house with Rich.

But, nonetheless, bathtime was inevitably going to be a problem. Because bathtime meant bedtime was soon and Rob hated bedtime. It was so boring.

“It’s time to put the blocks up so we can go get you in the bath”, Rich said. He stood up from his seat on the couch and kneeled beside Rob, who was sitting on the floor playing with wooden blocks. He scooped up a handful that Rob hadn’t made into a tower and put them in the plastic container. “Come on, bub, let’s get moving.”

Rob huffed and crossed his arms, intentionally looking anywhere but at Rich. He kicked the tower of blocks over with his outstretched leg and angrily scooped up the blocks and threw them into the container. “No bath.”

“Hmm, I guess that I’ll just have to carry you then”, Rich replied, seemingly unphased by Rob’s attitude. He stood up and bent over to pick Rob up from under his arms.

“No bath!”

The moment Rob’s open hand collided with Rich’s chest, he knew he was in trouble. But for some reason he decided to keep hitting him. Rich’s problem wasn’t that it hurt, no, because it didn’t hurt. Rob was just slapping at his arms and chest, barely hard enough to cause discomfort. The problem was that hitting was blatantly disrespectful and not okay to do to anyone, much less his daddy.

“Listen to me, Rob”, Rich scolded. He pointed this index finger at Rob’s face and adopted a stern look on his face. “We can either go to bath time right now without a timeout, or you can sit in timeout and then have a bath. Your choice. But Rob Benedict, hitting is not acceptable. It is rude and will not be tolerated. Do you understand me, little boy?”

“Yes sir”, Rob whispered. “I’ll take a bath and no timeout.”

“Good choice, bub. Can you go pick out your jammies while I get the bath water running?” Rob nodded. Rich helped him stand up and Rob hugged Rich tightly, burying his face in Rich’s neck. They stood like that for a moment before Rob detached himself and walked off towards his bedroom.

Typically, when Rob wasn’t aged down, the two of them shared a bedroom. All of his ‘big’ clothes were in there, along with his acoustic guitar, and most of his things. But he also had a bedroom to himself when he was in little space. It was painted medium grey and had glow in the dark stars stuck around the room. All of his ‘little’ clothes and toys were in there.

He took a few minutes to pick out pajamas, but decided on boxers and a shirt with oceanic wildlife on it. He walked back to the bathroom and found Rich sitting on the edge of the tub, turning off the water. “Just in time”, he stated. “Can daddy take a bath with you tonight? Because I think you’re too little to behave yourself while I take a shower later.”

Rob nodded and let Rich help him undress. He covered himself with his hands, blushing as Rich stripped him of his underwear. Rich took both of Rob’s hands in his own and looked into his bright blue eyes. “Robbie, you don’t have to be embarrassed or scared. You are my little boy right now and I will never ever do anything sexual with you while you’re in a younger headspace. I’m just a daddy taking care of his little boy.”

It was previously agreed upon that nothing sexual would take place between the two of them while Rob was regressed. Rich felt that if he did that, he would be taking advantage of Rob.

Rob stood there awkwardly as Rich undressed himself. He giggled as Rich stepped into the bath. A few moments later, they were both seated in the tub, Rob’s back against Rich’s chest. Rob was playing with some bath toys while Rich washed his hair.

“Close your eyes so I can rinse the shampoo out, bub”, Rich instructed. As soon as Rob tightly closed his eyes, he ran water through his hair. “You can open them now.”

Rob continued to play with the bath toys as Rich bathed him. He giggled when the wash rag went up his sides and under his arms. “Daddy, that’s my armpit!” he exclaimed, laughing as Rich tickled him.

The rest of the bath consisted of Rob playing with bath toys while Rich bathed himself and Rob. “We gotta get out, baby”, he finally said. “The water’s getting cold and we have to get ready for bedtime.”

Rob stepped out from the bath and wrapped a towel around himself, watching and giggling as Rich did the same. He toweled himself dry and wrapped it around his waist as Rich dried off and got himself dressed. “No cool jammies today? Just boxers and a shirt?”

Rob nodded, letting Rich pull the shirt over his head. He stepped into the boxers and pulled them up to his waist. “Sleep with you tonight?” he asked.

“Sure thing”, Rich replied. He sat Rob on the counter and kissed him on the nose before getting their toothbrushes and toothpaste. He brushed and flossed Rob’s teeth before doing the same to himself. He helped Rob hop off of the counter. They stopped at Rob’s ‘little’ room and grabbed a book to read before bed. They then headed to their shared bedroom.

Rob jumped on the bed and flipped around to lay on his back, spread like a starfish across the bed. After receiving a glared from Rich, he giggled and buried himself under the comforter. He took the pillow out from under his head and threw it at the end of the bed. Rich climbed into the bed beside him, propping himself up with an elbow to read the book Rob picked out, Goodnight Moon.

Rob curled up and laid his head on Rich’s chest, listening to the soothing voice read him his bedtime story. He put his hand on Rich’s chest too, feeling it vibrate as he spoke.

After the book was finished, Rich took off his reading glasses and placed the book on the nightstand beside the bed. “Do you need to go potty before bed?” he asked.

“Ummmm”, Rob replied, “Kinda, yeah.”

Rob got up and walked to the bathroom that was in the bedroom, leaving the door open. “Don’t forget to wash your hands”, Rich stated, earning a giggle from Rob. Rob returned after a moment and climbed into bed beside him, laying his head on Rich’s chest. Rich kissed his cheek.

“Goodnight, baby boy.”

“Night-night, daddy”, Rob whispered. He sat up for a moment and kissed Rich’s forehead. “Daddies need night night kisses too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This kinda sucks and I'm sorry


	3. Migraine

Rich woke up to loud retching and slightly less loud crying. Always a fun thing to wake up to. He rubbed his eyes with his fists, his overly tired mind not even realizing what was going on. The bathroom light was on and the space beside him in bed was empty. He practically jumped out of bed a few seconds later, realizing the situation that was unfolding.

 

When he walking into the bathroom, he was met with a heartbreaking sight.

 

Rob was kneeling on the floor, bent over and emptying his stomach contents into the toilet. He was crying and sobs wracked his body.

 

Rich got on the floor beside him, rubbing his back softly. After a few more minutes of getting sick, it finally stopped. Rob collapsed into Rich’s arms and continued to cry. “Hurts, daddy”, he whispered.

 

“What hurts, buddy?” Rich prompted. Rob had a habit of being horribly vague sometimes, and with getting sick added on, it was hard to get him to say much of anything. When he didn’t get a reply a few moments later, he took a shot in the dark. “Does your head hurt, bub?”

 

He felt Rob nod into him. “Let’s get you cleaned up and then we can go back to bed, how’s that sound?” Rich whispered. He stood up, then helped Rob do the same. He sat him on the counter beside the sink. “We gotta get you out of this yucky shirt.”

 

Rob let Rich clean him up without a hassle. After his shirt was taken off, his teeth were brushed, and his face was rinsed off, they returned to bed. Rich grabbed one of his sweatshirts from the closet and put it on Rob. Rob always liked to wear Rich’s shirts and jackets because they smelled like him and he liked that. The two men then curled up in bed.

 

This happened occasionally. Rob was prone to getting migraines and would then get nauseated and get sick. It was never a fun experience.

 

“Want you to hold me, daddy”, he whispered, laying his head on Rich’s chest.

 

Rich snaked his muscular arms around Rob and pulling him against himself tightly. He ran his hand up and down Rob’s arm slowly, kissing his forehead. “I’ll hold you anytime you want, Robbie.”

 

Rob hummed quietly in response.

 

Rich was going to let them sleep in that morning, so he turned off their alarm clock and decided not to worry about what time they woke up.They both fell asleep within half an hour. 

 

By the time Rich had woken up, the sun was shining through the curtains and projecting bright rays of light onto the floor. He checked the time and decided that it was too early to wake Rob up. He turned slightly, just enough to wrap Rob back up in his arms. He just wanted to spend some time cuddling with Robbie, even if Rob was asleep. Contrary to what he told people, Rich thrived on physical contact and comfort, especially in romantic relationships.

 

He had nearly dozed off again when he felt Rob beginning to move around a little bit, a typical indicator that he was waking up. He continued doing so for a few minutes before actually waking up. “Good morning, sunshine boy”, Rich whispered, giving Rob a warm smile.

 

“G’morning, daddy”, Rob replied. He rubbed his eyes and buried his face into Rich’s chest, covering his head up with the comforter. “Head still hurts.”

 

“We can just stay in bed today. How’s that sounds, baby boy?”

 

“Sounds good.”


	4. The Trouble With Rain

“ _ Robert Benedict _ !”

  
  


Rob came to his senses quickly, his wide smile fading as he realized the anger evident on Rich’s face. No, ‘anger’ wasn’t a strong enough word. He was  _ livid _ ,  _ irritated _ ,  _ pissed _ off even. There were so many words that were better fit than ‘angry’. He also looked hurt, and scared.

  
  


He had a right to be feeling all of those things though. He had woken up at six a.m. to an otherwise empty bed, a light turned on in the hallway, and an open front door. He automatically assumed the worst after searching through the entire house and the front yard with no avail. He thought Rob was gone.

  
  


In reality, Rob was just sitting far back in their back yard, back pressed against the wooden fence posts, watching rain fall. He had woken up about an hour prior to Rich, feeling completely restless. And with little space making him more impulsive than he typically was, he had ran outside to watch it sprinkle rain. And then it started storming.

  
  


He had originally went out the front door and had neglected to close it all the way when he trekked around to their back yard, letting the wind from the storm leave it completely opened.

  
  


He had been completely distracted, infatuated by the sound of the heavy rain and the way the lightning bolt flashed across the faraway sky, that he didn’t realize Rich had marched across the lawn and was standing in front of him until he cleared his throat.

  
  


“Little boy, I don’t know what you think you’re doing but you have five seconds to get yourself inside and in the corner.”, Rich seethed. His voice was eerily calm, but was low and Rob knew he was in trouble.

  
  


Rob didn’t have to be told twice, so he pushed himself to his feet and rushed inside. Within the few seconds it took for Rich to get back inside the house, close and lock the door, and walk to the living room, Rob was already standing there, nose in the corner.

  
  


Rich gave himself a few minutes to calm down, sitting himself on the couch. He propped his elbow on his knees and buried his face in his hands, taking a few deep breaths.  _ Robbie’s okay, he’s safe and sound, and everything’s gonna be alright.  _ He had to repeat the phrase to himself a few times for it to sink in that what he was saying was true.  _ Robbie’s okay. _

  
  


“Rob, come here.”

  
  


Rob peered over his shoulder, seeing Rich sitting on the couch and pointing to the floor in front of him. He slowly crossed the room, not daring to lift his head. He stood right in front of Rich, staring at Rich’s shoes. “Robbie, look at me”, Rich prompted softly. He put a finger under Rob’s chin and tilted his head up so he could make eye contact. “Little boy, you never  _ ever _ do that to me again, do you understand me? You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were gone.”

  
  


Rich held back tears, the held-back sobs making his voice break. He coughed, clearing his throat before continuing.

  
  


“Take off your clothes, Rob”, he said. He reached at Rob’s hand, pulling the rain soaked jacket from his arm. When he realized Rob wasn’t making any effort and was standing completely still, he stopped. “Your clothes are completely soaked and it was freezing outside. You’re too cold. And I gotta make sure the lesson sticks.”

  
  


Rob whined quietly, letting Rich pull the jacket off of him. He pulled down the sweatpants he had hastily put on earlier, hands shaking, stalling without realizing. Rich was right, his clothes were completely soaked through. He kept his boxers on, deciding to take off his socks off first. Rich promptly pulled down the boxers, leaving Rob naked.

  
  


He gently took Rob’s hands, and guided him over so he was lying face down over his lap. “Robbie, you made daddy worried sick, you know that? I thought you were gone. You could have been hurt, Robbie, and I can’t let that happen to you. You’re my little boy and I gotta protect you.”

  
  


“I know daddy, I’m sorry”, Rob replied.

  
  


Rich took a deep breath and put a hand on Rob’s back, making sure he kept still. “Why are you getting spanked, baby boy?”

  
  


“Cause I made you worry and I could’a got hurted.” Rob sounded so small, so hurt. He was hurt. Not physically, but emotionally. He was hurting because he knew he made his daddy scared. “And I went outside without askin’ and I broke the rules.”

  
  


“You are absolutely correct”, Rich replied. Without further conversation or warning of what was coming at all, he started spanking Rob. His bottom reddened quickly and he squirmed with each swat. Rich didn’t count how many times he spanked Rob, and Rob didn’t count either, because Rich knew when to stop and Rob knew that he had to let it happen.

  
  


The spanking went on for a few minutes, Rich lecturing as he landed each swat to Rob’s butt. He stopped after landing a few extra hard swats to Rob’s sit spots. He hadn’t spanked him hard enough to bruise, he would never do that. But it would be sore for a few days.

  
  


Rob had been reduced to tears already, but started crying harder when Rich sat him up and cradled him in his lap. “It’s okay, Robbie”, Rich whispered soothingly, pressing a kiss to Rob’s forehead. “You’re okay, baby boy. Everything’s alright.”

  
  


“I’m sorry, daddy”, Rob sobbed.

  
  


Rich continued to rub his back and whisper soothing words into his ear until he calmed down. He rocked Rob back and forth gently. “I love you so much, Robbie.”

  
  
“Love you bunches, daddy.”


	5. Sweetheart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last few chapters have seemed really One Shot-esque and that's not what I'm really looking for with this fic, so I'm hoping to change this

After getting Rob calmed down, Rich decided that him being naked and still being soaking wet wasn’t a good combination. He led Rob upstairs to get him dressed so they could make breakfast and then go about their day.

 

 

He didn’t want to dwell over having to discipline Rob and he didn’t want Rob to dwell over it either. Rob had a nasty habit of overthinking things and then getting obsessed with the thought of having made someone upset or hurting feelings to the point of having anxiety attacks. And Rich knew a way to keep Rob from overthinking was to keep him busy, and that’s what he planned to do.

 

 

“What do you wanna wear today, bub?” he asked, digging through Rob’s clothes drawers. Rob shrugged. “Oh c’mon Robbie, help daddy pick out clothes for you.”

 

 

“M’kay, da”, Rob replied. He went through his drawers with Rich, pointing to what he wanted to wear. This behavior wasn’t typical and that, in combination with the fact that Rob’s speech was less put together and sounded quite a bit younger than his typical little headspace, led Rich to believe he had aged down even further.

 

 

Rob laid across the bed and let Rich dress him. Rich dressed him in a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt that was too big for him, earning a giggle when he tickled his belly. “There’s my giggly baby”, Rich said, trailing his fingers up Rob’s sides lightly. He sat Rob up and kissed his nose. “I love you, munchkin.” 

 

 

He stood Rob up and held his hand, letting him grab his stuffed dog Ziggy before leading him down to the living room. “Do you want to watch cartoons while I make breakfast or do you wanna stick with me?” he asked. After getting no response from Rob, he pressed further. “I can turn on some Scooby Doo for you?” Rob shook his head. “You wanna stay with me?”

 

 

Rob nodded and earned a smile from Rich. “That’s all you had to say, bub”, Rich said, putting a hand on the small of Rob’s back, leading them both into the kitchen. He pulled a chair from the dining room to sit in the middle of the open kitchen. Rob sat in the chair, drawing his legs up to cross in the chair (which Rich though was probably uncomfortable, but Rob does some pretty weird stuff sometimes, so, to each their own).

 

 

Rich started fixing breakfast (waffles and scrambled eggs, at Robbie’s request), listening to Rob narrate to Ziggy. He smiled, hearing Rob talk to Ziggy about “how awesome daddy is”. He fixed the two plates of food, before going to put them on the table. “Robbie, do you want apple juice or orange juice to drink?”

 

 

“Apple juice please”, Rob said. He hopped out of his chair and tried to drag it to the table, getting scolded for scrubbing it on the floor. “Sorry, dada. Can help me move it?”

 

 

“Sure thing, bub.”

 

 

Rich helped Rob pull his chair up to the table, making sure Rob was seated and their drinks were on the table before sitting down. The two of them ate their breakfast, making conversation about anything and everything that Rob could think of, making Rich laugh when he went on tangents about minor details. Rich finished first, then watched Rob get his mouth and hands covered in syrup.

 

 

“We need to get you cleaned up, you’re all sticky”, he finally said, realizing Rob wasn’t going to finish off the last half of the remaining waffle on his plate. Rob whined, but was hushed by when Rich continued talking. “We can watch a movie or play after, mkay?”

 

 

Rob nodded and let Rich lead him to get washed up. He sat on the bathroom counter, as usual, while Daddy grabbed a wash rag and ran it under warm water.. It was slightly irritating to Rich that Rob was pulling his hands away while he was trying to scrub the syrup off of them, but the feeling was quickly replaced when he realized Robbie wasn’t doing it to get a rise out of him. “You’re really little, aren’t you, bub?” he asked, booping Rob’s nose with the wash rag.

 

 

\--

 

 

“I think it’s naptime, Robbie”, Rich finally said, standing up from his seat on the couch and clicking off the TV. The two of them had been lounging around for a majority of the day so far, watching cartoons and then playing with Rob’s plastic toy dinosaurs. Rob had seemed sleepy at lunch and Rich decided to give him about 45 minutes afterwards to play/watch TV/do whatever he pleased before putting him down for a nap. And now, the 45 minutes were up.

 

 

“Daddy, take nap with me?” Rob asked, grabbing Rich’s hand. The two of them walked up the stairs and to Rob’s ‘little’ room.

 

“I’ll take a nap with you, baby boy”, Rich replied. “You need to go potty first so you don’t have an accident, though. I’ll get a tee-shirt for you while you potty and we can kill two birds with one stone.”

 

 

“No daddy!” Rob shouted. “Can’t kill birdies! Birdies are good!”

 

 

“Calm down, sweetheart. It’s a figure of speech. We’re not actually going to kill any birdies.”

 

 

“Promise?”

 

 

“Pinky promise.”

 

 

Rob seemed content with the pinky promise and walked off the the bathroom, leaving Rich alone. He smiled. Rob was so  _ innocent _ and  _ adorable _ and Rich wondered how he even deserved someone as wonderful as Rob was. He suddenly remembered almost losing him to the stoke. It hurt. It hurt then, and it still hurt now.

 

 

He pulled an old faded ‘Led Zeppelin’ tee-shirt from the dresser and sat on the bed, waiting for Rob to come back. Rob stood in front of him after he returned, letting Rich strip him of his sweatpants and shirt, leaving him in his boxers. Rich pulled the tee-shirt over his head and kissed his forehead. “Ready for nap time?”

 

 

“Mmhmm”, Rob whispered. He climbed into his bed and curled up, waiting for Rich to curl up with him. Rich finally laid back and curled up with Robbie, wrapping his arms around the other man. “I love you, daddy.”

 

 

“I love you too, sweetheart.”


	6. Of Naptime and Existential Crises

He had been drifting in and out of sleep for a few minutes before he forced himself to wake up. He was shaky, as always, but felt a little more  _ off _ . He climbed out of the bed quietly, taking his time to ensure that he wasn’t going to wake up Rich. That was exactly what he  _ didn’t _ need.

 

 

He was scared, and little, but he didn’t want to be.

 

 

During his nap, he had a dream that Rich left him. The dreamland version of Richard had packed up all of his things without much prior warning, and had tried to leave, before getting into a squabble with dreamland Rob.

 

 

_ “Daddy please, I’ll change, I’ll be good. Please don’t leave.”  _ Rob had stood in the doorway of the house, pleading with Rich to stay.  _ “Please. I need you. You’re all I have.” _

 

 

_ “It’s ‘Rich’. My name is Richard.” _

 

 

Rob took a shaky breath and grabbed Rich’s arm.

 

 

_ “It’s pretty fucking pathetic, don’t you think? You’re a grown man, Rob. You can’t spend your entire like acting like a child, because then you never grow up. And growing up is something you need to do a lot of.” _

 

 

The dream had quickly ended with Rob having a panic attack and Richard leaving. And Rob had woken up with shaky breaths and clouded anxious thoughts, pulling himself out of bed and out into the hallway. Of course, he knew deep down that Rich didn’t actually think that stuff about him and that he would never just up-and-leave, but with anxiety and fear of abandonment running it’s course, he couldn’t help but think that what “Rich” had said in the dream was true.

 

 

He closed the bedroom door softly behind him, trying to shut off the inevitable noise made by pacing up and down the halls, searching for a way to just calm the fuck down.

 

 

He went to his and Rich’s bedroom, locking the door. He dug through the closet until he found a pair of jeans and a nicer-than-he-would-typically-wear shirt. He got dressed quickly before rushing to the adjoined bathroom.

 

His knuckles turned white as he gripped onto the sides of the sink. He stared at his reflection. He hurriedly tried to fix his hair, but ended up making it look just as messy as before. He was debating between shaving off the little stubble he had on his face to prove to Rich that he could be a big boy.  _ Daddy said not to do big boy stuff without help. I’m too little and I could get hurt,  _ he thought. He cursed himself seconds later,  _ I have to be a big boy. He’ll leave me if I don’t. _

 

 

He whispered to himself for a few moment, calming himself down so his hands wouldn’t be shaking as much. Shaving with shaky hands was never a well thought out plan. He was trying not to cry, and was scrubbing the tears from his eyes roughly, irritating the skin and making it burn slightly.

 

 

The stinging from his eyes made him even more upset and he was fully crying by the time he had lathered his stubble in shaving gel. He had put the razor to his face and had swiped down maybe twice before he heard loud knocking.

 

 

“Robbie, baby, what are you doing?” Rich stated loudly. “Can you open the door for daddy? Little boys aren’t supposed to lock the doors.”

 

 

“I’m fine, Richard”, Rob replied, his voice sounding much more shaky and much more regressed than he wanted. He was oh-so regressed, younger than typically, but was forcing himself to act normal so Rich _ wouldn’t leave him _ . “I’m fine, Rich. I just need a minute. I’ll be out in a second.”

 

 

“No Rob, I need you to open the door right now.”

 

 

“ _ No _ ”, Rob sobbed. “I’m okay. I’m a big boy. I don’t need help from daddy.”

 

 

That phrase and the exact way that Rob said it let Rich know that everything was in fact, not okay. He tried twisting the doorknob roughly several times, completely ignoring the fact that he knew it was locked. He went to grab a selection of random small items from the nearest room, figuring one of them would unlock the door. He tried several items, and it felt like it took ages, before he picked the lock open with a bent paperclip. He pushed the door open and practically ran to where Rob was sitting on the floor.

 

 

He had wiped the shave gel off with a towel and was sitting on the floor, back against the wall. His knees were drawn to his chest and he was trying to hide his face from Rich.

 

 

“Robbie, daddy needs you to tell him what’s wrong. You’re really upset and I need to know how to help.”

 

 

“No, da-  _ Richard _ . I doesn’t need help! I’m a big boy!”

 

 

Rich grabbed Rob’s shoulders roughly, making Rob stare him in the face. “Rob, we both know that’s not true. Now, you need to be honest with daddy. You can safeword out at anytime and you can be a big boy, but you need to trust me.”

 

 

“I do trust you”, Rob said, pulling his hands to his face again. Rich had his shoulders pinned to the wall and he squirmed slightly, not realizing Rich was doing so to keep his attention and keep him from trying to hide. He was whining and trying to push Rich away, but was failing.

 

 

Rob could safeword out at anytime, all he had to say was ‘ _ prophet _ ’ and he could be a big boy. If he said that word, Rich would help Rob handle the situation as his typical mental age and not regressed. But Rob hadn’t said it, and it was pretty telling to Rich that he was in fact in ‘little space’.

 

 

He finally stopped struggling against Rich and collapsed into his arms. He buried his face in Rich’s shirt and let himself be held. Rich rocked back and forth slowly, humming a song into Rob’s ear. Rob cried, and cried, and cried, and cried.

 

 

“Sweet boy, what’s got you all upset?”

 

 

“Nothin’”, Rob lied.

 

 

“Uh uh, Robbie. Little boys don’t lie to their daddies, especially about something that’s this upsetting”, Rich said, pressing a soft kiss to Rob’s forehead. “I want to help you feel better, baby boy, but I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”

 

 

Rob told him everything. It mostly came out as mumbles that were barely coherent, but Rich knew his baby boy and he knew how to talk to him. Rob told him about the dream, and about how scared he was, and about what his thought process went to such extremes as they did.

 

 

“I’ll tell you what, Robbie. I’m not going to force you to be in little space. You can be big if you want to, but I need to make sure that you are 100% okay first. So we’re gonna talk about this and I’m going to make sure you’re okay first. Is that alright, sweetheart?”

 

 

“Yeah, that’s good daddy”, Rob whispered, he put his head on Rich’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around him. “I want daddy cuddles first ‘cause they’re nice and you’re big and strong and you’re gonna keep me safe.”

 

 

Rich kissed Rob’s hair and held him, gently rocking the two of them back and forth. A line that Rob had said still ringing through his head..

 

 

“ _ You’re all I have _ .”


	7. Lunch and Tickles

Since the naptime nightmare incident, Rob had been aged up, his headspace reflecting his actual age. It had been a few days since then, and Richard could see the little space-esque behaviors sneaking back, but was trusting on Rob to fully regress when he needed to. 

 

 

The pair were currently getting ready to go out to lunch with a friend, namely Matt Cohen. Rob was sitting in the living room, reading a book, while waiting for Rich to get out of the shower. He was also supposed to be putting on his shoes, but was fully engulfed in his book. His eyes barely pulled up from the page of his book when he saw Rich walking down the stairs. He put the book down roughly, quickly leaning down to tie his shoes. "Almost ready to go, Bob-o? We gotta be there in fifteen-ish minutes." 

 

 

"I gotta tie my shoes real quick and then we're good", Rob replied, tying his laces sloppily and then standing up, getting a little light-headed from standing up so quick. Rich saw him hesitate before walking and close his eyes tightly, and promptly grabbed his shoulder roughly. 

 

 

"You good?" 

 

 

Rob nodded and pressed a quick kiss to Rich's lips, making the other man grin. They made their way to the car, Rob taking the passengers seat and Rich driving. The brief car ride was spent talking about the season finale of Rich's favorite TV show, which had aired the night before. He gave Rob a brief synopsis, since he had been in the studio with his band the previous day. 

 

 

Rob interrupted the last of Rich's summary by pointing out the window and saying "Look! Matt got us a table outside." 

 

 

Rolling his eyes fondly, Rich parked the car and the two men headed into the restaurant. They quickly found Matt, Rob having been correct about him picking a table outside for them. The couple sat side by side, Matt seated in the place directly in front of Rob. 

 

 

After ordering their drinks, the three men started catching up about what they had been doing recently. It had been a few weeks since they had seen each other, since Matt was busy filming as a recurring character in a television show and Rich and Rob had been working on more Kings of Con. It was nice for them to get to hang out and have more a conversation than just a few exchanged texts. 

 

 

They had been at the restaurant long enough to get their drinks and order their food, before Rob started getting cranky. He was getting antsy and wanted to move around and had snapped back at Rich when he had asked if he was okay. He got a few bitter replies in to Matt, which Matt had taken as him using deadpan humor. It wasn't until Rob had unnecessarily insulted a mutual friend of the trio that Rich decided he had gone too far. 

 

 

Matt excused himself to the restroom and Rich took the opportunity to confront him about it. He pointed a finger at Rob and spoke in a quiet but stern voice. "Little boy, I don't know what has gotten into you, but you better straighten up. You're being rude and that is not okay." 

 

 

"What? I don't know what you're talking about. And I'm not little", Rob huffed, sounding quite sarcastic. His tone of voice and previous behavior had said otherwise, that he was quickly regressing. It hadn't been intended, but it was getting close to nap-time and when little boys don't get naps, they get cranky. "You're just being a hard-ass." 

 

 

Rich cocked an eyebrow, daring Rob to say more. "You're gonna be taking a seat on the naughty step when we get home, but if you don't clean up your attitude, and your language, you're gonna be sitting there with a sore bottom", he said. Having gotten Rob's attention, he ruffled his hair slightly and gave a small smile. "I'm not asking you to not be little, Rob, being little is perfectly okay. But you're being rude and that isn't going to be tolerated. I thought you were my sweet boy. Sweet boys aren't rude, are they?" 

 

 

"No sir", Rob caved, letting Rich rest a hand on his back. He whispered as he saw Matt round the corner from the restrooms. "I'll be good, daddy. I'll be your sweet boy." 

 

 

"Thank you." 

 

 

The rest of the lunch date went well. Rob cleaned up his attitude and was a much happy camper for the rest of the meal, which Rich was thankful for. 

 

 

After paying the bill, the three men stood up and said their goodbyes. 

 

 

"It was nice to eat lunch with you guys", Matt stated. He shook Rich's hand and clapped him on the back. Rob gave him a loose hug, which wasn't unusual. Rob was a hugger, regressed or not. "I'll see you guys soon, have a safe drive home." 

 

 

"You too, Matthew", Rob replied. He waved goodbye again before Rich and himself peeled off their path of walking through the parking lot, heading for their car. Rich drove again, letting Rob sit in the passengers seat and chatter about whatever he wanted to. He was glad Rob had straightened up his act back at the restaurant and smiled fondly as he listened to Rob talk. 

 

 

They pulled up back at their house and Rich killed the engine, not yet unlocking the doors. 

 

 

"Robbie, don't forget that you still have to sit on the naughty step", he reminded, earning a whine from Rob. "Uh-uh, baby boy, don't whine. I told you this at lunch and I'm sticking with it." 

 

 

"But I hate the naughty step", Rob whined. He scrunched his nose up and made a sour face. It was true, he _despised_ the naughty step. Five minutes of sitting on the third step of their stairway, the time starting over if he got up or tried to make conversation. But, it was a previously agreed-upon method of discipline. He wasn't supposed to like it. 

 

 

"You're not really supposed to like the naughty step, Robbie, that's the point. _But_ , if you'd rather, you can spend ten minutes standing in the corner instead." 

 

 

Rob agreed, and Rich unlocked the doors, the pair then heading into the house. Rob took his place in timeout, nose in the corner. 

 

 

He knew how timeout worked, you sit on the naughty step (or stand in the corner) and think about why you're there and ways you can try to prevent the misbehavior from happening. He was fairly good at doing so, as he had timeouts quite frequent (sometimes multiple times in a single day). So he stood there for his ten minutes, thinking over his misbehavior, until the timer went off and Rich called him out of the corner. 

 

 

"What did you think about in timeout?" Rich asked. 

 

 

"I thoughted about how being mean isn't okay and that saying nasty things hurts people's feelings", Rob replied, taking a seat beside Rich on the couch and tucking himself under his arm. He laid his head on Rich's chest and continued talking. "I could'a hurted Matt's feelings when I said rude stuff to him and you're not supposed to be mean to your friends. I think that I'm just grumpy cause I'm sleepy and next time, instead of being mean, I need to tell daddy that I need a rest." 

 

 

Rich smiled and kissed Rob's forehead. "I think you're right, buddy. How about we take a rest right here and watch some cartoons for a little bit. Sound good?" 

 

 

\-- 

 

 

"Hmm, I wonder what my little boy's up to in here", Rich stated, leaning against the bedroom doorway. He saw Robbie curled up on the rug in the floor, apparently trying to hide under a blanket. Deciding to play along, he sighed loudly and walked into the room, pretending not to known where Rob was hiding. "I wonder where Robbie went... I guess he just decided to leave daddy all by himself." 

 

 

Rob giggled and squirmed around, making Rich smile fondly. 

 

 

"I guess I'm all alone now. What in the world will I do without my little Robbie?" Rich sat on the bed and covered his face with his hands, dramatically pretending to cry. 

 

 

The ball of blankets on the floor started to move and Rob shot up, rushing to comfort Rich. "No daddy, I'm still here! I didn't leave you, was just hiding." He climbed into Rich's lap and pried his hands from his face, laughing wildly when he realized Rich was just pretending to cry. "Daddy, you thoughted that I left, but I was just hiding under my blankie." 

 

 

Rich started tickling Rob, making his little boy roll around the bed in a fit of giggles. He tickled his belly and under his arms, getting playfully slapped at in response. Rob was howling in laughter and trying to get away from Rich's tickles, but to no avail. 

 

 

They rolled around in their tickle fight for a few minutes, Rob's loud laughter filling the room. "Wait a minute", he exclaimed, giggles breaking through his sentence. He grabbed Rich's large hand to keep him from tickling him. Still in a fit of laughter, he continued. "I- I gotta pee, daddy! Wait a minute." 

 

 

Rich stopped and let Rob run to the bathroom, shouting to remind him to flush and wash his hands. He smiled fondly when Rob returned, face bright red from laughing. He pounced on the bed and snuggled beside Richard, laying his head on his shoulder. Rich pressed a kiss to Rob's cheek. "My goofy little boy."


End file.
